Engines, including diesel engines, gasoline engines, and gaseous fuel-powered engines are used to generate mechanical, hydraulic, or electrical power output. In order to accomplish this power generation, an engine typically combusts a fuel/air mixture. With the purpose to ensure optimum combustion of the fuel/air mixture and protect components of the engine from damaging extremes, the temperature of the engine and air drawn into the engine for combustion must be tightly controlled.
An internal combustion engine is generally fluidly connected to several different heat exchangers to cool both liquids and gases circulated throughout the engine. These heat exchangers are often located close together and/or close to the engine to conserve space on the machine. An engine-driven fan is disposed either in front of the engine/exchanger package, in some arrangements, to blow air across the exchangers and the engine, or between the exchangers and engine to suck air past the exchangers and blow air past the engine, the airflow removing heat from the heat exchangers and the engine. In other arrangements cooling fluids from the environment, for example water from a marine environment, can be directed through the engine/exchanger package to remove heat therefrom.
An exemplary cooling system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,219, (the '219, patent) issued to Stang et al. on Apr. 20, 1982. The '219, patent describes a coolant system for a combustion engine including a turbocharger, an aftercooler, a first radiator, and a second radiator. The coolant system comprises an engine loop and an aftercooler loop, both loops utilizing a single pump. The engine loop includes the pump, the engine's block and head, the first radiator, and a first radiator bypass branch. The aftercooler loop includes the pump, the aftercooler, the second radiator, and a second radiator bypass branch. Each loop further includes a temperature responsive flow control thermostat for regulating the coolant flow through the associated radiator and/or bypass branch.
Although the coolant system of the '219, patent may provide adequate engine cooling, it may be sub-optimal. Specifically, the use of two radiators may increase the cost and complexity of the coolant system. And, the coolant system of the '219, patent may have limited control over coolant temperature within the aftercooler and engine.
The disclosed engine cooling system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.